BLOODY SUNDAY PROTEST , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 30th JANUARY 2010.

"...Never Forget.."

On a dry day ,in 'warmish' sunshine , with a very cool breeze , about 50 republicans and supporters held a two-hour protest today on the traffic isle in O' Connell Street , Dublin city centre , to mark the 38th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'.
The protest , which was organised by Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach ,was the 37th such protest the organisation has held in Dublin in relation to that massacre : they held their 1st Anniversary protest in that spot in 1973!

Some of the protestors , as seen from the GPO.

A total of one thousand eight hundred A4-size information leaflets (in 'packs/booklets' of three) were distributed to the public during the protest and were that well received that the same amount again , if they had been available ,could have easily been distributed! RSF President Des Dalton and John Horan , RSF Dublin , addressed the crowds over the two-hour period , and both stressed , amongst other things , the very real danger that another 'Bloody Sunday' could happen in the Occupied Six Counties as the Westminster parliament still claims military and political jurisdiction over that area of Ireland.

From 'Bloody Sunday' to the Dublin Spire...

A reporter from a French radio station interviewed one of the RSF organisers in a ten-minute session , and a photojournalist from 'Demotix.com' was on site for just under one hour , capturing images which , she hoped , her Editor would publish in the next day or two ! Apart from the by-now usual (but unwelcome) interference by the State political police , the two-hour protest was a massive success , with new contacts made and offers of support from the public received and logged by the organisers for future reference and over 100 copies of the 'Saoirse' newspaper sold at the protest. It was an extremely well-received and well-organised protest , for which the organisers are to be congratulated!

'Bloody Sunday Must Never Be Forgotten!'

A more detailed report , and more photographs , will be published in the February 2010 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday next ,the 3rd of that month. Thank You for reading!
Slán go foill anois,
Sharon.

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BLOODY SUNDAY , DERRY , 1972...

BLOODY SUNDAY PICKET , SATURDAY , JANUARY 30th , 2010.
Venue : The GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street , from 12 Noon to 2pm.

After a peaceful Civil Rights march on January 30th , 1972 - from Creggan to Free Derry Corner - units of the British army Parachute Regiment opened fire with automatic rifles and shot dead 13 unarmed civilians , injuring many more . It was later revealed that some days prior to the massacre , the British soldiers involved had been briefed to "...shoot to kill.." at the march .

" This Sunday became known as 'Bloody Sunday' and bloody it was . It was quite unnecessary . It strikes me that the (British) army ran amok that day and shot without thinking of what they were doing . They were shooting innocent people . They may have been taking part in a parade which was banned , but that did not justify the troops coming in and firing live rounds indiscriminately . I would say without reservations that it was sheer unadulterated murder . It was murder , gentlemen . "
- the words of British Major Hubert O'Neill , Derry City Coroner, at the conclusion of the inquests on the 13 people killed by the British Army .
On Saturday January 30th next , a picket to mark the 38th Anniversary of that massacre will be held at the GPO in Dublin , from 12 Noon to 2pm . All welcome !
Thanks!
Sharon.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" The announcement by the British was timed to make publicity and political capital in the same way as the South African apartheid regime announced the release of eight PAC and ANC political prisoners , some of whom had been held for up to 28 years , to influence the Commonwealth Conference in Kuala Lumpur this week and in particular to strengthen the anti-sanctions lobby led by Mrs. Thatcher.

Indeed their acting in concert on the international arena , their sharing of almost identical censorship laws , catch-all conspiracy laws and rascist attitudes , the British and South African regimes are more and more resembling an 'International League of Oppressors' .

The publicity expressed views of David Evans MP for Welwyn and Hatfield , for instance, would surely be as acceptable in Pretoria as in London : Mr Evans announced at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool this month that he was , and I quote, - "a hanger and a flogger and I would shut Northern Ireland off from the press and media and send the SAS in and hang the bloody lot of them ".
Aithnionn ciaróg ciaróg eile! "
(MORE LATER).




BETRAYAL.......
The (State) Gardaí used John Corcoran (pictured) as a (P)IRA informer. They allowed him to be killed by another (P)IRA informer, and have since refused to investigate his murder*.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, Christmas Annual 1997.
By Ursula Halligan and Vincent Browne.
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)

The murdered * man was John Corcoran, then aged 45 and father of eight children , living in Ballyvolane , a suburb of Cork city. In a statement issued following his murder * , the IRA claimed that he had been "executed" because , as an IRA member, he had given information to the 'security forces' in the 26 Counties.

The man who has claimed his part in the murder * is Seán O' Callaghan who , at the time, was the chief garda informant within the IRA. O' Callaghan has claimed that, even though he was then operating within the IRA to prevent the loss of lives , he took part in the murder* of John Corcoran to protect his cover as an informer.

O' Callaghan has also claimed that he fully briefed his garda 'handler' of the capture and detention of John Corcoran but that the gardaí failed to intervene to save Corcoran's life.......
(MORE LATER).



TRADE UNIONS AND THE HUNGER-STRIKE.
From 'IRIS' magazine, November 1981.

Meeting for their annual conference in 1978 , the delegates to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions adopted a resolution on prison reform - the major points of which were statements of principle as to how a modern penal service should be run.

The resolution was carried , after intensive lobbying, by delegates , who supported the protesting prisoners in the H-Blocks and Armagh . Notable among those lobbyists was Philip Flynn, deputy general secretary of the white-collar Local Government and Public Services Union, who is currently a member of the Sinn Féin National Executive.

In a brief interview , Philip Flynn explained to this magazine what was being expressed by that particular motion.......
(MORE LATER).

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